Computer and communication technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. Indeed, computer and communication technologies are involved in many aspects of a person's day. For example, many devices being used today have a small computer inside of the device. These small computers come in varying sizes and degrees of sophistication. Computers commonly used include everything from hand-held computing devices to large multi-processor computer systems.
Computers are used in almost all aspects of business, industry and academic endeavors. More and more homes are using computers as well. The pervasiveness of computers has been accelerated by the increased use of computer networks, including the Internet. Most companies have one or more computer networks and also make extensive use of the Internet. The productivity of employees often requires human and computer interaction. Improvements in computers and software have been a force for bringing about great increases in business and industrial productivity.
Maintaining and supporting computer systems is important to anyone who relies on computers. Whether a computer or computing device is in a home or at a business, at least some maintenance and/or support is often needed. For example, sometimes there are problems with computer hardware. In addition, computer hardware is often upgraded and replaced with new components. Similarly computer software is also frequently upgraded or replaced. New computer hardware and software is continually being integrated into systems across the world.
Installing new software or updating current software is typically an ongoing task. Sometimes installing new software may take a substantial amount of time to perform. In addition, if mistakes are made during installing, problems may occur thereafter which could decrease the production of an employee. As corporate performance and end-user productivity have become increasingly dependent on computers, computer support personnel are often used to maintain computers for a company. The support personnel are also under pressure to perform tasks as efficiently as possible which may include minimizing effects to existing computer systems or minimizing any disturbance of computer users.
There are many computer programs now available to help computer support personnel to provide computer support and maintenance. Some of these programs can effectively install new software and/or operating systems by copying certain data to the storage device of the computer system. Copying data to the storage device of the computer system to place updated or different software to the system may be referred to as imaging or disk imaging. Imaging enables computer support personnel to upgrade, update or change a system faster than if he or she had to do it manually.
As shown from the above discussion, there is a need for systems and methods that will improve the ability to manage and support computer systems. Improved systems and methods may enable a person performing computer support to work more efficiently and accomplish more in less time. Benefits may be realized by providing increased functionality to assist in computer maintenance and support.